In absorbent articles, often the rate of urination or runny bowel movement (BM) discharge exceeds the rate of absorption of the absorbent portions of the articles. Features of the absorbent articles, such as barrier cuffs, waistbands, and other elements are designed to contain the free fluid for an amount of time until it can be absorbed by the absorbent portions of the articles. However, there is still a need for additional features to prevent leakage and better contain free fluid in absorbent articles.